Syrian Refugees in Canada Face Integration Challenge

March 29, 2017 – Integration remains a big issue for Syrian refugees in Canada, as more and more reach their one-year anniversary that sees the withdrawal of specific government and private sponsorship.

Instead those that are yet to find work must rely on the same benefits as Canadians, a year after moving here from their war-torn country.

Privately-sponsored refugees prosper more quickly in the short term in terms of learning languages and getting jobs when compared to their government-sponsored counterparts.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reports about half of privately-sponsored Syrian refugees in Canada who have reach their one-year anniversary have found work, compared with 10 per cent of the government-sponsored group.

This comes down to privately-sponsored Syrians in Canada either already having family ties, or even if they did not know their sponsors before arrival, having the advantage of people working specifically on their behalf to get them integrated into society.

Statistics shows it may take eight or nine years before government-sponsored refugees close the integration gap.

Government-sponsored refugees also have a generally lower level of education, and a more limited grasp of Canada’s two official languages, English and French.